Earth Day: Those Who Have Been Investing in Our Planet Every Day

Earth Day: Those Who Have Been Investing in Our Planet Every Day As the world celebrates another Earth Day, focused on educating and inspiring action in the global citizenry, we must acknowledge and turn to the leadership of those who have been protecting and investing in our planet for millennia. I speak about communities in the Global South, women of color, and Indigenous Peoples. For many in these intersections of gender, race, caste and socio-economic class, sustainable living and stewardship are ingrained in their local culture and way of life. Yet, they bear the brunt of a climate crisis fueled by exploitative policies and practices. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in its sixth and final report named colonialism as a historical and ongoing driver of the climate crisis.

I give the example of Indigenous Peoples, because I am an Indigenous Pamiri from Tajikistan and because it illustrates both the existential danger faced by these communities and the global benefit of the low-cost, high-efficacy mitigation and adaptations strategies that they drive locally.

There are an estimated 370 million Indigenous Peoples, across more than 5,000 groups with more than 4,000 languages. A 70% majority live in Asia. These communities are counted among the most marginalized populations in every country where they live across markers of socio-economics, power, and access. This makes communities like mine highly vulnerable to climate change, from forced migration due to extreme weather to extermination of our way of life, identity, and culture. As a Pamiri, my identity, my spiritual practice, and how my ancestors have lived for generations is tied to the mountains, valleys, and rivers of Pamir. Our lives and actions are inextricably linked to the land so we listen, learn, and share ancestral wisdom for living with its ebbs and flows. The last few decades have caused new phenomena that my ancestors did not have to face and we are not prepared for. Wolves, highly intelligent and generally shy, have been driven by extreme conditions from the high mountains and developed a taste for human blood. The unpredictability of ice melt, the extreme winters and summers, and the warming planet have led to failed crops, food insecurity, illnesses, water shortages, and increased migration from Pamir.

This is further compounded by the discrimination and human rights violations faced globally by Indigenous Peoples like Pamiris. Government infrastructure and services are unreliable to non-existent due to discrimination, resulting in Indigenous Peoples constituting 1/3 of the world’s extremely poor rural people. The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Local Communities and Indigenous Peoples Platform (LCIPP) focuses on

this alarming increase in threats and violence against Indigenous Peoples as they defend these local, sustainable practices. At times, they have also been harmed by well-intentioned climate mitigation efforts by the international community, governments and non-local conservation groups who did not consult or consider them in decision-making.

This disproportionate impact is particularly disturbing as marginalized groups and Indigenous Peoples hold the answer to the most effective, efficient, and sustainable solutions for adaptation, mitigation, and regeneration. Indigenous ways of life are neither gone nor outdated; they are the past and future of sustainable life on this planet. Indigenous communities must be elevated, engaged, and supported as critical partners and knowledge sources across every facet of climate work: regenerative agriculture, food security, land restoration, clean water, carbon sequestration, and sustainable development.

Why? Indigenous Peoples represent 5% of the world’s population but manage 50-65% of the world’s land. This includes 40% of precious ecosystems like the world’s boreal and tropical rainforests, savannas, and marshes that are critical for the planet’s biodiversity, carbon storage, water access, and natural resources. Unfortunately, these lands are frequently appropriated or polluted by governments and private companies. When Indigenous Peoples have the legal title or tenure to the land and the security that comes with it, the deforestation rates are 2-3 times lower. This is not only the most cost-effective carbon mitigation strategy but also generates trillions of dollars’ worth of benefits in the form of carbon sequestration, reduced pollution, clean water and more.

According to the World Resource Institute, securing land rights led to $54-119 billion in Bolivia, $523-1165 billion in Brazil and $123-277 billion in Colombia of economic value over two years.

The total cost to these governments to secure these land rights was less than one percent of the total benefits. With this land secured for these Indigenous communities, the economic benefit to these governments and our world grows. The estimated costs of carbon mitigation through securing Indigenous land is $2.04-11.88 per tonne of carbon dioxide (tCO2), compared to the average costs of avoided CO2 through carbon capture and storage of fossil fuels for coal-fired power plants (5 to 29 times more expensive) and for natural gas-fired power plants (7 to 42 times more expensive). That’s a total of $25-34 billion over the next 20 years through avoided annual release of CO2 emissions. This data is important as it is the first report to quantify and monetize at a regional level what many of us have known for a long time: Indigenous Peoples, as stewards of the land, are leading in regenerative, cost-efficient approaches to address the climate crisis both locally and at scale.

As the international community, governments, and activist groups rally to address the climate crisis, it is critical that Indigenous Peoples and women of color are not only safeguarded and supported but that they are also engaged and given space to lead. Not as tokens or relegated to relics of a white-washed, idyllic past but as nuanced, data-backed local experts. This shift to local representation, decision-making, and access to finance ensures nimble, nuanced approaches in support of time-tested local systems. Beyond the moral imperative of environmental justice, equity and inclusion, this is the most effective, efficient answer to the climate crisis.

As Co-Chair of the Climate Change Working Group for the Women of Color Advancing Peace and Security (WCAPS), I’m proud to be part of a team of phenomenal women, leaders from numerous professional backgrounds spread across Asia, Africa, Europe, and the Americas. The context in Alabama is different to the context in India, but we are united in our cause: ensuring the voices, priorities, and contributions of women of color as we shift the climate conversation back into the hands of local stewards. We hope you will join us.

Dilafruz Khonikboyeva Co-Chair, Climate Change

The WCAPS Climate Change Working Group leadership team consists of: Liaisons Marsha Michel and Abiola Afolayan; Events Coordinators Furhana Husani and MyKailah Thompson; Engagement Coordinators Nandini Saxena and Eyesiere Hope Daniel; Communications Coordinators Ananya Kundu and Renée Stoute; and Co-Chairs Lisa Jené and Dilafruz Khonikboyeva. You can reach us: ccwg@wcaps.org